Fujifilm’x Instax lineup have gone through several upgrades and consumers love their cameras thanks to the cute, small form factor and the fact that they can instantly print your photo.
In a world of digital cameras and smartphones, the fact that you can have an old-school polaroid camera with new internals is pretty cool and a lot of people pay for that nostalgia.
Fujifilm has now announced the successor to their wildly popular Mini lineup, the Mini 11.
One of the major improvements that come with the Mini 11, over its predecessor the Mini 9, is the size of the camera has been shrunken down, even more, to make it handier. The smaller size means it can easily be carried around now and the rounder design helps it achieve a “modern” look.
The lens has the same 2 element 60mm setup as the Mini 9 but what’s new is the Selfie Mode. Technically, this was also a feature of the Mini 9, but the Mini 11 doesn’t require a separate lens attachment. To activate the Selfie Mode all you have to do is pull on the lens towards the outside and a marking “Selfie On” shows up on the lens, indicating that you can now take selfies.
To assist you with your photos, there’s a mirror on the left side of the lens in which you can check your framing and then shoot.
The selfie mode also doubles as a macro mode, allowing you to take close-up photos of subjects up to 0.3m.
A major upgrade on the Mini 11 is auto exposure. A sensor automatically senses the amount of ambient light available when you press the shutter button and adjusts the exposure levels, shutter speed and the flash level. On the Mini 9, you had to manually use the dials to adjust so this is a welcome improvement and puts the Mini 11 more in line with the “modern” take that Fujifilm seems to be targeting.
Oh and, speaking of the shutter button, there’s an option to choose between two types of buttons; a jewel-shaped shutter button and a “Glow” button that actually glows in the dark. Photos taken from the camera can be printed on the same instant film cartridges as other Instax Mini cameras at a size of 3.4 x 2.1 inches.
The Mini 11 will be available for sale starting mid-March for a price tag of $70 (~Rs. 10,800).